If you’ve been stuck searching for Small Cap Value funds, consider Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Admiral (VSIAX) as a possibility. While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
VSIAX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner’s buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VSIAX. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011, VSIAX has garnered more than $23.68 billion in assets. The fund’s current manager, Kenny Narzikul, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2025.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.35%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.74%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product’s returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund’s [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund’s performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of VSIAX over the past three years is 15.74% compared to the category average of 13.27%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.24% compared to the category average of 14.97%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VSIAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.42, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.